You may have noticed that you’re hearing more about cybersecurity in the news than you have in the past. That’s because cyberattacks are growing in scope and frequency, and organizations large and small are beginning to understand exactly what is at risk when you have a vulnerable system. 

Christian Espinosa has been aware of these risks for years, and he has been sounding the alarm to anyone who would listen. Christian has a background as a cybersecurity consultant, founded his own cybersecurity company, Alpine Security, and wrote a best-selling book about cybersecurity, and he shared his perspective on the subject with us on this episode of Future of Tech. Christian says that one of the major problems with cybersecurity today is that, in terms of defense, IT functions in the same way it has for a decade. So as cybercriminals get more sophisticated, the backend of many systems has remained stagnant, leaving organizations vulnerable to all manner of bad actors. But Christian also offers solutions, including bringing a more hands-on approach to your organization, changing the way we all communicate about cybersecurity and the risks of leaving our technology vulnerable, and how to structure your departments and prioritize hiring to ensure that cybersecurity stands alone. Enjoy this episode.  

Main Takeaways:

• Time To Think Differently: From a defense perspective, the way IT functions has not changed significantly over the last 10 years, which means the fundamental challenges still apply. Attackers are still entering systems through the same vulnerable spots as they always have in the past and their attacks are evolving. It’s time to start getting great at the basic things, like vulnerability management, phishing training, and configuring systems in a more secure way.
• Hands-On: The companies that have had the most success with cybersecurity have made cybersecurity a hands-on issue that everyone in the organization is involved with and responsible for. Show everyone in the organization exactly what is at stake and how easy it is to be hacked, and then invest in giving them the tools and training they need to prevent attacks.
• Separation of Church and State: Cybersecurity should be a separate department and fall under the purview of a CISO rather than a CIO or CTO. The CISO should also report directly to the CEO. When the department is completely separate from IT, security will be enabled in a way that takes only cyber into account, and the head of department will not have other stakeholders or business problems to worry about.

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